


Now I Know

by whiteraven1606



Series: Three [8]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anxiety, Conditioning, Crying, Culture Shock, Developing Friendships, Developing Relationship, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Force Ghosts, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Torture, M/M, Men Crying, Multi, Past Child Abuse, Past Torture, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protectiveness, Rescue, Rescue Missions, Trust Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-07
Updated: 2016-02-07
Packaged: 2018-05-18 21:04:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5943052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whiteraven1606/pseuds/whiteraven1606
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A 'feeling' the General had said. Poe was blaming it all on her, but at least he got her tea and Jess' booze this time around. He just hadn't expected to have to talk to a Hutt while shopping.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Now I Know

**Author's Note:**

> The way I have them discussing encryption is probably not how canon handles it at all, but one, finding a site that tells me canon technical crap about non-existent technology is really hard, and two, canon divergence. :) It's a lot easier for me to visualize it like my Army communications training and then just cut out the classified parts as I write. So, if you are a superfan that knows how canon would handle encryption and timing across a fleet, please don't expect me to match. Thanks.
> 
> Also, I am still actually going somewhere with all this. I know it's a lot of OCs for the Stormtroopers, but we didn't get a lot of canon ones to work with.

****

Poe slipped into a seat across from Snap and Pava as he tried to put weird dream occurrences out of his mind. "Morning."

Pava waggled her fingers at him as she chewed a mouthful of food.

Snap grinned. "Morning, Boss." He nodded towards the food line where Jaydavi was eagerly naming all the different foods he knew the names of for his squadron-mates. "He's way too chipper this morning."

Poe nodded as he sipped at his caf. "I'm going to hate running him through drills. He's going to grin at me the whole time."

Pava snorted. "They are all weird, you know?"

He squinted at her over the edge of his cup. "What do you mean?"

"One of Jaydavi's squadron was retelling a dogfight from Starkiller Base where you killed one of his wing-mates. All precise vectors and angels, no hand gestures, and he didn't even flinch as he talked about it. None of them do."

Poe looked across to Jaydavi leading his friends towards their table. "Finn's real matter of fact when he mentions dead Stormtroopers he knew. I'm pretty sure I killed a couple of his old squad during the skirmish just before I was captured."

Jaydavi plopped down next to Poe and the rest of his group split up around them. "Is this red sauce the biting one or the one from the fruit that's not fruit?"

Pava sniffed at the little bowl as Jaydavi held it out. "That's hot sauce." She smiled at Poe as Jaydavi mixed a tiny amount into his food. "He nearly coughed himself to death couple of days after he first arrived."

"Almost tore a stitch." Jaydavi handed the bowl to one of the other pilots as he looked at Poe. "What were you saying about being captured?"

Poe shrugged. "Just prior to being captured I'm pretty sure I killed a couple of Finn's old squad."

Jaydavi nodded. "I know you hit Slip. FN-2199 was raging about it when we came back in from Jakku."

With a blink, Poe sat down his cup. "Slip?"

"Yeah, he was..." Jaydavi grimaced. "He was just..."

"He was a terrible Trooper."

Poe leaned back to look a Jaydavi's lady-friend. "Remind me what we decided on for your name, please. I meant who was Slip when I asked that."

"You named me Ele." She pulled her chair over to the end of their table. "Slip was FN-2003's secondary designation."

Pava shook her head. "Secondary designation?" She looked at Poe. "Seriously? They couldn't just let them call it a nickname?"

"What's a nickname?"

Poe turned his head to find Finn and Rey standing a few feet away with food trays in their hands. Finn looked like he needed to sit down. Poe scooted his chair towards Jaydavi. "Pull up a chair. A nickname is something people call you that isn't your name, but you'll answer to it."

"Oh. A secondary designation." Finn squeezed in between Poe and Rey. "Why are we talking about nicknames? Haven't you named enough people lately?"

Poe flicked the edge of Finn's tray. "Don't tease me about that."

Rey smiled around her mouthful of food. She nodded at Finn. "Tell him."

Finn glanced at Rey and then shrugged at Poe's raised eyebrow. "She thinks we should call you the Namer of Stormtroopers."

Rey broke into giggles as Poe rolled his eyes.

"I'm just helping." Poe pointed at Finn with his fork. "Maybe helping. Did you have a nickname that you'd rather be called?"

Finn ducked his head and peeked at Poe for a moment before shaking his head. "No. Eight-Seven was just shorter and easier to say. It didn't actually mean..." He frowned. "I like being Finn."

Poe nudged Finn's knee with his own. "Just checking. It's all Jess' fault we're talking names anyway."

Pava threw a bit of her bread at him. "It is not. _I_ was talking about how none of our new friends seem bothered by the fact we were shooting at each other not that long ago. You sidetracked us into names."

Finn put down his spoon. "Should it bother us? Stormtroopers die."

Jaydavi nodded. "Pilots die. We all die. That's just the way of things."

Ele leaned into Jaydavi's side. "Knowing who killed someone is...better? We don't get...what'd the medical lady call it?"

"Final wishes?" Jaydavi turned to Poe. "The thing with the tags you were telling Finn and I about. About finding a body. I asked her what would happen to the body after retrieval."

Snap pushed his tray away from himself. "You're talking funeral rites. What happens to the dead."

Ele nodded. "Yes, that. The best we can hope for is to be recycled. Being trashed is, I think, more common." She gestured to Finn. "You'd probably know."

Finn held a roll in Rey's direction as she looked up from her empty tray. "Nine out of ten dead just went out with the garbage."

Snap and Pava made identical sounds for anger as Poe let his hands fall into his lap so he could clench them under the table.

Rey frowned as she chewed a bite of the roll from Finn. "Out?" She looked at the ceiling and then wrinkled her nose. "Oh, spaced." She leaned around Finn to poke at Poe's arm. "They'd still be there if there aren't garbage scavengers, huh?"

Poe nodded. "There's only a few space creatures that'd bother organics. I haven't heard of scavengers that'd care for dead beings." He fished in his pocket for his note taker. "I'll mention it to the General and we'll start scanning any garbage we come across." He looked up from finishing his note to several people staring at him. He looked at Finn. "What?"

Ele poked Jaydavi in the side. "Really?"

Jaydavi nodded. "I told you they are really weird about some things."

Poe rubbed at the back of his neck. "They deserve not to be treated like trash. They deserve respect." 

Ele leaned back in her chair. "Now you sound like Boost."

Finn sighed. "I really wish there was a way to get Boost off of the _Finalizer_. She knows more about operations than just about anyone."

Poe had a silent argument with Pava and lost so he knocked knees with Finn again. "Who's Boost?"

Jaydavi started stacking their empty trays up. "She maintains the Code Sixes."

Poe looked at Finn. "Okay?"

Finn grimaced. "She's the only one that can. They've tried to force her to train others, but she refuses. The rest of the ones that could repair and mantain the Code Sixes have all died. She can't be reconditioned because it's likely she'd lose the ability to fix the Code Sixes."

Rey frowned. "Why hasn't Kylo Ren just...taken the information?"

Ele hunched in close against Jaydavi. "He couldn't. She's...odd."

Poe looked to Finn, who shrugged.

"She always knows when someone is coming. She even hums while she works sometimes."

Jaydavi grinned. "Guarding her is the best duty though." His expression became somber. "Except when they send her on repair parts runs." 

"True." Finn sighed. "High Command kills all the Stormtroopers that have to guard her on any trip to Corellia."

"Irreparable contamination."

Pava put her chin in her hand. "Soooo, what's a Code Six do that's so important?"

"It makes the codes used for authentications and runs the Timing Channel."

Poe frowned. "Timing Channel?"

Finn crossed his arms. "It's how the First Order keeps time and encryption across the entire fleet synced correctly."

Pava smiled. "That's it. The kids were talking while they cleaned and I mentioned it to the General when she was asking about a way to let others in the First Order know that Finn's out and alive, but the kids weren't using a name. They were just saying they wondered if they were named in a roll or something."

"Repeating Roll."

Jaydavi leaned forward and reached across Poe to poke Finn in the elbow. "She told you?"

Finn gave them a sour look. "I was on her guard detail when she recoded our Code Six so we could quit using all zeros for codes. She runs through the roll really fast, but after fourteen hours I needed to hear anything else."

Ele looked at Finn like he was crazy. "You _talked_ to her? I thought you were a model Trooper up until you ran."

He ducked his head again and Poe could see a slight flush darken his cheeks and the tips of his ears. "She explained why the Timing Channel needs repeating data and showed me how to add something into the Repeating Roll." He sighed. "I hope she added my squad..." He shrugged. "It doesn't matter."

Poe thought about the list on the wall of a storm drain and the unknown number of bodies just floating in garbage patches across the galaxy. "It matters. All of them matter." He pressed his knee against Finn's knee. "Is there any chance Boost will be sent to Corellia again soon?"

Ele shook her head. "She's there now. She was sent just before..." She waved her hand at Finn and then she froze.

Jaydavi frowned. "What?"

"That's why." Ele grabbed Jaydavi's shoulder and shook him. "That's why Skim didn't come with us. He and JY-0049 went back."

Poe reached around Jaydavi to put his hand on Ele's to stop her shaking Jaydavi. "What do you mean?"

Jaydavi's face lit up. "Oooh. Transport rotation."

"Yes!"

Finn straightened in his seat. "Do you know what the schedule was for getting her?"

Ele made a face. "Maybe? They probably changed it because we..." Her shoulders drooped. "They'll have killed them."

Jaydavi shook his head. "No, no. Skim's smart enough to have a way out of that."

Ele huffed. "Like what?"

"Fake a head wound."

Poe turned towards Finn. "What?"

Finn touched his own temple. "If I were Skim, I'd crash the TIE on landing. Hard enough to knock through one of the side walls of the hangar. Loss of rations and extra shifts for a month, but no reconditioning with a head wound on a pilot. Too much specialized training information could be lost and that's not efficient. Make sure to yell how badly he was betrayed and how terrible the traitors are. Top that off with asking to be allowed on the detail to go hunt them down."

Jaydavi nodded. "They'd go ahead and send him on the transport mission and then decommission him with the rest of the Troopers after they get Boost back. Last service to the Order. Neat and tidy."

Poe pushed to his feet. "I need to go talk to the General about going to Corellia." He clapped Finn on the shoulder. "You need to come with me. We'll stop at Medical on the way and ask them how far you can walk because I'm betting she going to send us shopping."

Pava waggled her eyebrows at him. "Shopping and rescue missions. What has the galaxy come to, Black Leader?"

Poe made a face at her and tugged on Finn until both him and Rey were following Poe down a corridor towards the General's new quarters.

****

Leia nudged Luke in the ankle and grinned down at him blinking blearily up at her. "You'd better move if you don't want your new student to see your sleep hair."

He sat up, yawned, and ran the fingers of his left hand through his hair. "What?"

She sat out enough cups for everyone to have caf or tea. "A little trooper as told me we are about to have company."

"Hmm."

She handed him a cup of caf and watched him cool it enough to drink with the Force. "Is that appropriate use of the Force, Jedi Prince?"

He took a gulp of caf, wrinkled his nose at her, and then smiled. "Master Yoda would probably have laughed at me and then lectured for about an hour."

Leia settled against Luke's side and sipped at her own caf. "You think he'd like Rey?"

Luke took another drink. "He'd have liked her. She's...well, she's what I image you were probably like about a four years before we met, Princess General."

She snorted. "Possibly." She leaned a little harder on him. "She sounds like you. She _moves_ like you."

"Jedi's all move a lot alike, Leia. Even ones with next to no training."

Leia rolled her eyes and stood up as C-3PO's voice came through the closed door, becoming louder with each passing moment. "She's certainly right about you being stubborn."

****

Poe was practically pushing Finn down the corridor after a chattering C-3PO. "What's wrong?"

Finn took slow controlled breaths as Rey frowned at Poe from around Finn's side. "I'm fine."

Poe stopped them a few feet from the General's quarters. "No, you aren't fine." He turned and squared himself up to Finn, reaching out to cup Finn's shoulders. He frowned to find Finn trembling. "Pain level?"

"Tolerable."

Poe huffed and watched Rey go around them to fend off C-3PO as Finn tried to move forward even though Poe was holding onto him. "Finn."

"We can't keep her waiting."

Poe frowned harder and eased to the side to support Finn as he continued moving forward. "You're alright. Okay?"

Finn nodded and sucked in air fast before muttering to himself to calm down.

Poe kept a hand on his elbow until Finn shook it off just before the General's door. He gave Rey a bewildered look as Rey frowned back at him. "I don't know."

"I'm clam. I can do this." Finn seemed to shake himself and straightened up so much that Poe could nearly _see_ the pain ripple across the man's back. "I can do this."

They went in and Finn tried to fall into parade rest, but now Poe was near to panicking because Finn had been _Finn_ until they turned that last corner in the corridor. He looked at the General's worried expression and silently pleaded for help.

Luke was sitting on her couch squinting at them. "That's no good." He reached up and grabbed the General's arm and pulled her down enough to mutter in her ear.

Poe shoved on Finn, but didn't even rock him. "Let's sit down."

Rey was looking more and more distressed herself as she looked from Finn's face to Poe and back. "Finn?"

Finn held himself still and taut at the end of the sitting area watching the wall just above the General's bent head.

The General straightened up from listening to her brother. She slipped around the edge of the low table and gently cupped Finn's chin like she done many times to Poe. "Son...Finn, I'm going to give you an order in a few moments and then we'll talk about what we're meeting for. Before that, I want you to listen to me." She tugged on Finn's chin to get him to look down on her. "You have made me very proud of you and if we ever get around to having a medals ceremony you'll get one."

Luke huffed a laugh and ducked his head as the General turned to glare at him.

She turned back to Finn. "Did I harm Kaleine for disobeying me?"

Finn looked confused for a moment before his expression smoothed back out to being blank and still. "No, General."

"Have I harmed Poe for him disobeying me numerous times?"

He blinked and glanced down at her before shifting his gaze back to a straightforward stare. "No, General."

"Heard of anyone actually harmed by me for anything they've done?"

Finn sounded very firm when he said, "No, General." He frowned a little. "People talk like you would, but no one seems to actually be harmed."

The General nodded and patted Finn's cheek. "Good. Now hard as it might be for you, sit the kriff down before you pass out from pain. That's an order, Finn."

Poe eased close to him as Finn sagged. He shot the General a look as he helped Rey ease Finn into a chair.

The General sipped from a cup before holding it out to Finn. "Here, Finn. I understand you like caf."

Finn looked stunned around the edges as he took the cup. "Yes, General."

She settled next to Luke on the couch. "You are safe here, Finn. Regardless of my own emotions I will not harm a subordinate. Understand?"

Finn nodded dubiously as he stared down into his cup. "Sorry, General."

Poe took his own cup with shaking hands as she offered it to him. "Thanks."

She hummed as she elbowed her brother in the ribs until he used his long limbs to hold out a cup to Rey for her. "I had been hoping to sleep in this morning, Commander."

Poe grinned. "Well, I thought maybe you'd like to hear about Finn's plan to cripple First Order communications and empower the Stormtroopers."

Finn coughed as he took his cup away from his lips. "Oh. No, no. I mean, crippling the Sixes, sure, but that's not going to empower anyone. The scheduling would just go to hell and everyone might have to go to no codes depending on if Boost has a way to break in from non-Order comm equipment..." He froze and ducked his head to curl around his cup of caf. "Uhm."

Poe patted him on the back of his better shoulder. "You're alright." He turned towards the General. "He's talking about a single Stormtrooper nicknamed Boost. She's the sole person they have to repair something called a Code Six that's used for their version of an Overhead. Encryption and timing all rolled into one."

Luke frowned. "They haven't made her teach others?"

"The Sixes are from Before the Order." Finn shook his head. "Even the Supreme Leader can't force it out of her." He bit his lip. "I think she's been teaching parts to various Stormtroopers. She taught me how to add something to the Repeating Roll."

"She's running real repeating data instead of dummy data like we would."

The General nodded. "Pava thought we might be able to use it to help spread news through the ranks."

"Some tune to the Timing Channel while doing work, but no one would admit to it. As long as you don't transmit comms aren't logged at end of shift." With a tiny shrug, Finn took another sip of his caf. "Boost is on a parts run to Corellia. There will guards with her, but if we could kidnap her..."

Luke frowned. "Why is she on Corellia? Can't the Order just produce the parts she needs?"

"She refuses to use First Order parts for some things. Last time they tried to go around her the Six blew up and took out half of that ship's bridge." Finn grinned. "They've locked themselves into a corner. They need the Sixes because all other encryption devices are off the shelf from beings termed enemies of the Order, all the people that could develop something like the Code Six were killed for not obeying, and she's the only survivor can troubleshoot them."

"What happens when they try to go get the parts without taking her?"

"Rumour was she refused to eat until they took her." He sat his empty cup down on the low table. "Boost isn't normal. She's treated sort of like a cross between Kylo Ren and a prisoner. We guard her, but we're not to talk to her. She can go pretty much anywhere that isn't a hangar, but we report where she goes. She's to be feed from our rations if she's working and hasn't eaten in four hours."

"Jaydavi said guarding her on ship was the best duty."

"Oh, it is. She never stops to get food and if we give her rations we get extra rations and extra off-shifts if she's in good condition at shift change." Finn scrunched up his nose. "She's always making noise, is all. Saying the Repeating Roll to herself, humming, making gestures when she's not holding things." He made a thumbs up gesture and then aborted what looked like the start of a rude gesture. "If you listen long enough you starting hearing things in her humming."

The General cocked her head. "Hearing things?"

"Yes, General." Finn licked his lips. "She...it sounded sometimes like she was talking to someone." He clasped his trembling hands together. "I...I..."

Poe pressed closer to Finn's side as Rey did the same on his other side. He looked at the General.

"Easy, Finn. You wouldn't be in trouble for telling me." The General took Finn's cup and refilled it. "If my making it an order to say helps, I will." She took a sip of his cup and sat it back in front of him.

"No." Finn blew out a breath. "No, I can...I can say it." He wrapped his hands around his newly warmed cup. "I think Boost was talking to the glowing man in the corner that no one can see. Or I think no one can see. I can see him, but I can't hear him."

Luke leaned forward. "Glowing?"

Finn flicked his eyes to Luke before looking back to the General. "He follows Kylo Ren around and waves his arms at him a lot." Finn pulled his cup up to cradle against his chest. "I tried not to end up on that guard detail because as a Stormtrooper I couldn't react to something that wasn't there and not get into trouble."

Rey wrapped her arm across Finn's shoulders. "If he's glowing how is he not there?"

Luke sat down his cup with a visibly trembling hand. "He's talking about a Force ghost, Rey." He turned a little towards the General. "Most people can't see them. Others refuse to see them."

She huffed. "I could see them, but two I didn't know and I didn't _want_ to talk to the third one."

With an easy nod, Luke turned back towards Finn. "What did he look like?"

"Human. Tall." Finn frowned. "I never tried to get a very good look at him and even though I should have I never reported myself for it. Sorry."

Luke reached across and patted Finn's hand. "That's alright. I'm just curious." He turned towards the General. "Well?"

She rolled her eyes. "We don't have a decent ship to send."

Rey straightened up. "Why not the _Millennium Falcon_?"

Poe shrugged as the General frowned. "We can't use the freighter until her papers are cleared. All our supply transports are known. A Corellian freighter on Corellia isn't going to stand out that much."

"Uh huh." The General sighed. "What's Medical say about Finn running?"

"I'm capable of marching a standard unit, General."

She sighed as Luke frowned in bewilderment. "Poe?"

"He's not to run unless we absolutely have to and then minimal movement until Medical can assess him."

The General hummed as she twisted the cup in her hands around and around. "You believe this will help us?"

Poe nodded. "Absolutely, General."

"Go get her, Poe. Take Luke, Rey, Finn, and Chewie with you. Fight over who gets to pilot the _Falcon_ out of my hearing." She sat down her cup. "If you get into trouble don't hesitate to remind people Han made the Kessel Run in twelve parsecs. That always seemed to open doors on Corellia."

Poe gathered up Finn with Rey's help. "Yes, General." He got them started towards the door.

"And, Commander?"

He shoved Finn and Rey out the door ahead of him. "Yes?"

"Tea, liquor, and, since you are going that far, find toys for the children. Kaleine asked if they could play blaster tag yesterday."

Poe blinked. "Blaster...tag?"

"Yes." She grinned at him. "Find out what that actually entails on your way."

He blinked harder. "You...want me to take Kaleine with us?"

Her expression hardened. "I have a feeling, so...yes."

He nodded. "Tea, liquor, toys, and at least one person." He gave her a proper salute. "Here's to hoping I actually finish the shopping this time, General." He hurried away as Luke asked his sister about a standard unit.

****

After she was done explaining a standard unit, Leia gathered up cups as Luke fingered his lightsaber and breathed. "You think it's him...Our father."

"Might be." Luke carefully hooked his lightsaber back onto his belt as he stood to come help her with the dishes. "You find it odd they didn't make Finn an officer?"

She glanced at him as they piled the dishes on a tray. "Captain Romi sent us his records. There were several times when a Captain Phasma kept him from being chosen for officer training. Other officers seem to not notice him. He holds about sixteen records in simulations and scores for various things, but they didn't make him an Elite or raise him from the ranks in any way."

Luke nodded. "You find him hard to look at when he was terrified?"

"Yes." She blew out a breath and dumped leftover caf. "You think he's using the Force."

"Hmm." Luke shrugged as he took a cup from her hand. "It doesn't feel like his conscious doing, but like..."

"Something someone set on him. Like Rey."

He looked up sharply at that. "Yes. You noticed."

She felt like smacking him, but Leia forced it down. He'd always been more oblivious to others than he liked to admit. "She broke the bindings on her connection to the Force and it flooded out. Finn's is still bound down for the most part." She gripped the edge of the counter as she felt the checking...thing he sometimes did swept through her. 

Luke nodded. "I think so. He's not _interesting_ when you're thinking about making him an officer. He becomes plain and nothing special. That's a very powerful mind trick to manage at long range." He sighed. "I think someone has bound his Force connection into powering the mind trick. He goes before an officer and it triggers. They dismiss him out of hand."

Leia hummed, because it made a certain kind of sense, but it also worried her because who knew enough to do that and where were they in the First Order hierarchy to get at Finn at a young enough age to make it worthwhile to hide him in that way? And where were they now? "Kaleine?"

"No, she hides herself and the other Force-sensitives from her base like you and I breathe." He huffed. "I have to check that they are okay by checking everyone and then counting the blank spots inside the crowd."

"Sounds exhausting."

"Good practice." He handed her another cup. "I don't know what to do, Leia. The children are terrified of me. Rey wants to beat me with her quarterstaff for leaving you. As for Finn, I'm not even certain I can unbind his connection without hurting him." He bowed his head as she turned towards him. "It so noisy here. I can't find anything of the old lore that is the least bit helpful and I was so impatient that I shouldn't even have considered training..."

She hit him. When he jerked and blinked at her, she hit him again, harder. "You stupid Nerf-herder!" She found the drying cloth and hit him again. "For a couple of decades now, I've wanted to find Kenobi's Force ghost so I could yell at him. Maybe Yoda too."

Luke held up his right hand to fend off the hits from the cloth. "What?"

Leia threw down the towel and wrapped her idiot brother up into a fierce hug. "They made you so insecure in yourself. All of them made you think that you couldn't just be _you_ and a Jedi at the same time. That you had to fundamentally change yourself just to conform to Jedi...ideals." She smacked the back of his shoulder. "Don't you dare do it to Rey just because trying to not be your Masters didn't work on Ben."

"Leia."

She smacked him again and pushed back to find he was on the verge of tears. "You've always done your best, Luke. Whined some along the way, but you haven't failed."

Luke shook his head. "I have failed. Ben. Finding a way to stop..." He made a helpless gesture. "The dark side is winning and I _can't_ stop it. I failed you and..." He sniffed hard. "And Han."

Twenty years ago, kriffing hell, five years ago, she'd have slapped him. Now though, Leia lifted her chin just slightly and _stared_ at her brother. "Did _I_ say you failed me?"

He froze at her tone of voice, tears sliding down his cheeks.

She let her shoulders drop just slightly and let years of denying she was still royal fall away until she stood before her brother in the most regal posture she'd ever been trained to use. "Did I say you failed Han? Or Ben? Or _your_ students he murdered?" She narrowed her eyes. "I know you. You had a connection to each of them open when it happened. I felt the echo of it through your connection to me."

He took a shuddering breath.

"I have never felt that you abandoned us, Luke. You went to hunt down something to help you against Snoke. Kept yourself away so it was less likely they'd tear us apart trying to get at you. Yet all that time, for me, you were always right off my shoulder, just out of sight. You screamed with the Hosnian system. You raged when Han died. Don't you dare tell me you've failed." She focused all her confidence and her _knowing_ their choices were as good as they could have made them. "Instead...Tell me what you're going to get off your ass and _do_."

Luke grinned at her through his tears. "Your version of 'do or do not, there is no try' is a lot longer than Master Yoda's was."

She huffed a laugh, gathered him to her, and let him grieve on her shoulder as she let herself stop being furious at him.

****

Landing a TIE on a Star Destroyer that's prepping for lightspeed is a little harder than Skim remembered from simulations. He double checked his comm wasn't broadcasting. "We should have stayed."

"Finn needs her and she needs her box, Skim. We're the only ones that can do it."

Personally, Skim was certain they were walking dead, but he didn't mention that. "Yeah, yeah. I'm about to crash."

"Ready."

Skim purposely wabbled them and then slammed them into the thinnest spot on the hangar wall. "Hang on." He throttled up instead of down and felt the TIE creak as they broke through the wall into the service tunnels behind that. "Fire."

"We are crazy." JY-0049, Forty-nine, hit the wall and kept firing wildly as Skim forced their TIE further down into the opening he was burning for them every fourth or fifth shot. "We're walking dead."

"Probably." Skim twisted the controls and sheared off the port array as they sank down another level. "How far?"

"We're six levels above the nearest ledge."

"Hmm." Skim rocked the throttle to make it look like he was confused as to why they were stuck. He watched his console lights change. "We've gone to lightspeed."

"Good?"

"Isn't terrible. I hope they'll pick up the squadron like Finn was saying they would."

"He was a model trooper up until he ran. You heard JY-0025 on their comms. Scuttle was he died. We've had this discussion. In the middle of a space battle, thank you, I'm not having it again."

"I know." Skim got them dropped another two levels and turned to face down the drop they had left to go. "We're really stuck now. Best I've got."

"It'll be fine. Brace."

Skim braced his neck and let Forty-nine slam his helmet into the side of the cockpit several times. "Ugh."

"Okay?"

Skim shook his head to clear the spots. "Functional." He blew their canopy and stared down at the drop below the top of the canopy. He took his helmet off as Forty-nine scrambled out of the gunner's seat.

Forty-nine went first and once he was down Skim smashed the part of the canopy he'd hooked the grappling hook to with his helmet. Once he was certain there were no discernible hook marks left, Skim dropped his helmet past the ledge they were aiming for listened to it bang off things on its way down.

Skim thought Forty-nine looked scared as Skim jumped. A few terrifying moments and a wrenched shoulder later, Skim rolled onto the ledge, and they hurried to the nearest access.

Skim bit his lip as he hit all zeros. He didn't know what a prayer was, but if he had the internal begging he was doing would have qualified. The door took a harrowing moment to pop open.

They hurried down the access tunnel to the mid-ventral access corridor. Skim checked both directions and then turned right. They got to the ladder for the comm line access. Skim caught Forty-nine and clasped hands with him for a moment before they parted.

Skim kept going down the corridor as Forty-nine climbed. If he could get back up high enough and knock himself out before Troopers were sent down it might keep him alive. Skim clung to that hope as he raced for Boost's workspace.

He undid her trap just like she'd shown him three months prior and slipped inside. He opened the grating and pulled the standard issue Trooper transport box from the hole cut carefully into the bulkhead below the air duct. It was heavier than any transport box Skim had ever handled.

He replaced the grate, got out the door, replaced her trap, and hauled the box down the ship's ventral midline towards the stern. He only had a few more minutes. He got to the access door closest to the transport hangar.

Skim took a steadying breath and popped the door open with more zeros. He blinked at the surveillance lights showing down for maintenance in the hallway. He didn't question it. He just hurried across and along the back of the transport scheduled to pick up Boost. He nestled the Trooper box down in with the rest of the ones for the Troopers going.

Skim patted the Trooper box holding all the parts to a Code Six one last time, before covering it with another Trooper box and hurrying out.

He made it back to the access corridor. He sprinted back to the crash and used the ladder access to get him down to the ledge under the one he and Forty-nine had first landed on. He peeked up and could barely hear Troopers moving around above him in the gloom of smoldering TIE and weapon strikes.

Skim laid himself out on the edge of the ledge with his head hanging off the edge. It wouldn't be long until he found out if they were walking dead or if it was going to work. Either way the Six might make it to Finn. Skim smiled to himself as Troopers above him yelled they'd found Forty-nine. Finn. A Stormtrooper with a proper name. Skim wondered what it'd be like to have a proper name as his head started to spin.

****

Poe set out his two duffels and the two he'd wrangled out of Pava. "Okay. One for everybody. Kaleine, you aren't taking your armor."

Kaleine frowned with her breastplate half in her bag. "Fighting without armor is more dangerous."

"Yes, it is." Poe gently tugged the armor from her hands and set it back down on the pile next to her. "You aren't fighting. We're going to go shopping and you are staying on the _Falcon_ while we hunt for this Boost lady. Then, we come home."

She blinked up at him. "Home?"

Finn held out the clothing they'd altered to fit Kaleine so she wouldn't be in all black. "Home is like designated barracks, but where you choose."

Rey stuffed the jacket she'd gotten from the General into her bag. "A safe place with family."

Poe settled his hand on top of Kaleine's head. "We're your family, Kaleine."

She smiled wide and carefully put the rolled up clothes from Finn into her bag. "We don't talk about Resistance while we're shopping. We smile when smiled at and wave when waved at. We stay with an adult we know or BB-8 if it's an emergency. We are to point out things we like and things that are outside of normal mission parameters. We aren't to hide from Master Luke unless Poe says to." She looked up at them. "Right?"

Finn nodded. "Exactly right."

Poe closed his bag and then Kaleine's bag and piled them onto Rey's where she was already done. "One last thing, Kaleine."

He tried to ignore the rest of the children staring at him as he lifted Kaleine up onto his hip and settled her. He set her foot where it'd work best and felt her copy with her other foot. "This is an alternative carry method for children."

She leaned one way and then the other as she held onto him with her little knees. "Oooh. This is a good position for dealing weapons fire."

Poe bit the inside of his cheek. "This is for when you are tired of walking."

She scrambled down. "I can march a third of a standard unit."

Finn shook his head at Poe and knelt down in front of Kaleine. "You're not in trouble. I'm told shopping can be more tiring than combat."

Rey laughed.

Poe grinned at her. "You laugh now. Wait until you see the list the base is going to send with us."

****

There wasn't much fighting about who'd pilot. Luke declined before they'd even boarded. Chewie had insisted he wasn't doing the annoying parts unless they were all too injured to do it themselves. They agreed to have Finn do the cruising parts before lightspeed with one of the others co-piloting to give him some practice. Rey flew them from the base. 

Poe took over as they came out at Corellia. Finn and Rey stood behind Poe as he dropped them down to the landing pad they'd been assigned. Kaleine was standing in one of the jump seats so she could see out as well.

"There are ships _everywhere_."

Luke crowded into the cockpit's doorway. "There are people everywhere, too."

Kaleine pointed at a ship. "That one is our shape."

Poe smiled as he angled them and started to slow down to put out the landing gear. "We're in a Corellian freighter on Corellia, kiddo."

Finn flicked Poe on the shoulder. "He means ships are more common at the point of origin for that ship type."

Poe shrugged and slipped them a little sideways to line them up with their pad. "More or less." He touched them down easy and smooth. He restrained himself from whooping. "She handles really well."

Rey reached past him to flick switches to put them into standby. "I think Han had the lateral thrusters restrained by 7 percent."

Poe mentally replayed how the ship had felt coming in as he moved himself out of Rey's way. She was really protective of the ship considering she'd somehow gotten BB-8 stuck on referring to the _Falcon_ as Garbage-Will-Do. "Maybe. So? What first?" 

Finn slipped himself into his mended jacket. "Shopping or we'll never get it done."

Luke nodded. "That's usually how it works." He stripped off his outer robe and put on a plain flight jacket that Poe figured had been Han's. "Rey, make sure your and FInn's lightsaber is out of sight."

She looked up from where she was strapping on a holster. "Ours? I thought it was yours." She glanced down at her belt before looking back at Luke. "Master."

He sighed. "You can just call me Luke. Yes, it belongs to both of you. Sabers don't turn on for just anyone. Otherwise a lightsaber battle would be a contest in who could turn the their opponents' saber off the fastest."

Poe blinked. "You know, I always wondered about that. With the moving things and all. I used to think it was about size or something."

"There's a crystal in them. It talks." Everyone turned towards Kaleine. She looked from one to the next, stopping on Luke. "Right?"

Luke knelt down and Poe could see the flash of hurt as Kaleine slid sideways to hide mostly behind Poe's legs. "Talks?"

She nodded with her face hidden against the side of Poe's hip. "The bigger crystals in the ship guns screamed, but the huge ship didn't stay long enough for me to figure out what was wrong."

Luke aborted a reach for Kaleine and instead unclipped his lightsaber from under his borrowed jacket. He held it out towards her. "This one talks?"

She turned her head enough to peek at him with one eye. "It says sad, more sad, happy, worry, and...love?" She bit her lip and turned her face back against Poe. "The other one says useful again, happy, worry, need to be useful, and at home."

Poe set his hand on the top of her little head and stared at Luke. "The man you keep worrying about finding you? What about his?"

"It doesn't make much sense. It howls because it's cracked." She dug her head against his leg and Poe could feel the change as she hid them.

Luke made a small noise and this time he did reach out. "Shhh. Let up on that. We're alright. There's a huge crowd around us that masks us. You doing that makes a blank spot in the crowd."

Kaleine whimpered. "If he finds us..."

Luke touched her quaking shoulder. "He's far away. I can tell where he is."

Kaleine turned her head and blinked at him. "You can?"

"Yes."

She pried her hands out of the fabric of Poe's pants. "How far? Really far? Why does he have a cracked crystal? I don't think they are supposed to be cracked."

Luke blinked and let her climb into his lap as she asked question after question. "Very far. I don't know. The kyber crystals are hard to find now. Lightsabers shouldn't be made with cracked ones. They can explode. We're going to have trouble finding any for anyone else to make their own lightsaber."

Poe lifted her off him as Luke started to get an overwhelmed expression on his face. "Later you can talk with Luke some more, Kaleine. Right now, we need to get the shopping done."

****

Skim settled the transport ship into its assigned docking spot. Skim felt weird in non-regulation attire. At least he had his proper boots on. He cut the engines and turned towards Forty-nine sitting in the forward weapons position. "Now what?"

Forty-nine shrugged and they went out to help secure the perimeter as the newly designated Captain tried to contact the squad that was supposed to be protecting Boost and got nothing.

The Captain left them with half the contingent as he took the rest to go look for the squad and Boost. 

Skim watched them go and turned towards the Trooper closest to the ship's ramp. "Why do they put us in non-regulation clothing and then march us places?"

The other Trooper snorted. "We stick out like a non-helmeted Trooper as it is." He shifted his weight. "What you do wrong to get this assignment?"

Skim knew the whole ship knew he'd crashed his TIE last week. "Crashed my TIE." He pointed towards Forty-nine. "He was my gunner. He...doesn't deserve this assignment."

The other Trooper shifted his weight again before coming closer. "Think they'll find them before end of day?"

Forty-nine came over until they were standing together. "Didn't it take them two weeks last time to come back?"

The final Trooper came over from where he'd stationed himself against the far wall. "I thought that was why they'd all been killed."

The first Trooper shook his head. "No. They always kill everyone that's been here. Eight-Seven used to say it was because we were considered irreparably contaminated."

Forty-nine glanced at Skim. "FN-2187? You knew him?"

The final Trooper stiffened. "There was no Stormtrooper by that designation."

The first Trooper's eyes narrowed and a moment later he was standing over the body of the final Trooper knocked out on the ground. "Eight-Seven was a _good_ Trooper right up until he wasn't."

Skim grinned. "You knew him."

The Trooper huffed and started dragging the body of the other Trooper towards the ship. "Yes. Why do you think I'm slated to die? I'm the last of his squad. Nines and Slip are dead and I'm...done." He dropped the other Trooper to the deck of the ship. "I'm Zeros."

Skim grabbed an ankle as Forty-nine grabbed the other and they pulled the downed Trooper further inside. "I'm called Skim. He's Forty-nine. What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking we run?" He shrugged. "I don't know. I'm just not..." He frowned. "I've listened to so many vile things said about him. He was _good_."

Skim bit his lip. "Is there a way to make a comm call to a person by name?" He hurried through the ship to the Trooper boxes and starting moving them to get at Boost's box. "We need to get this to Finn."

"Who is Finn?"

Skim looked up from pulling on Boost's box. "That's his name, Eight-Seven, the Resistance gave him a name and they have most of my squadron. I don't want to die."

Forty-nine pulled on the box to get it loose. "It's _heavy_."

Zeros was staring at him. "A actual name? Really?"

Skim helped Forty-nine carry the box towards the ship's hatch. "Yes. He told my squadron if they ejected the Resistance would pick them up before they ran out of air. He promised." He turned towards Zeros. "We're walking dead either way. I'd like to know if they kept his promise."

Zeros nodded and grabbed one side of the box. "What's in this?"

"Boost packed it and you really don't want to know."

****

Poe hurried through the shopping as fast as he could. The list from the base was all bought and loaded up. All they had left was tea, liquor, and figuring out toys for children that wouldn't know what to do with them. 

Poe suryved the info holo for a toy store near their current position as Chewie went by carrying Kaleine on his shoulders. She seemed to love the vantage point. Luke was shifting between staring at her and concentrating on finding his sister's favorite tea at the vendor they'd come down this street for.

They'd lost Rey in a small plant shop two streets back. Poe wasn't worried, but Finn kept turning his head that direction every few minutes. BB-8 rolled along at his heels commenting on their surroundings as Poe lead them on a hunt for decent liquor that he could afford a pile of for Pava.

Kaleine clambered down from Chewie and came over to Finn and pulled on his pant leg. "Finn."

He knelt down, keeping his back straight as he did so. "Yes?"

"Why are there three men moving a Trooper box other there?" She pointed down the street the direction they were headed in.

Finn stood up and craned his neck to look the direction she was pointing. "Poe?"

"Go." He turned his head. "Luke!"

He turned from the teas and hurried past Poe and Kaleine to go after Finn. "The purple sort. Get at least two pounds for the Princess General."

Poe grabbed up Kaleine's hand to keep hold of her and made the buy Luke had started. "Jess is going to be so mad when I come back with tea, but no liquor."

Chewie made a distressed howl as BB-8 knocked into the back of Poe's legs.

Poe turned and tried not to let his expression change as he found himself staring at a blaster muzzle. He held the tea down towards BB-8. "Hold this, Buddy." He listened to BB-8 load the tea into an internal storage compartment as he watched the group watch him.

The group holding blasters on them parted and a sleek woman stepped up to Poe.

He eyed her for a few moments as Kaleine's hand tightened in his. "So? You talk first? I talk first?"

She narrowed her eyes and tilted her head. "Rotta the Hutt has demanded this one's presence." She jerked her head towards Chewie. "It is not up for negotiation, Commander."

Rey appeared at his shoulder. "What happened?"

Poe used his longer fingers to tuck his and Kaleine's hand into the bend of Rey's elbow. "Rotta the Hutt has invited us to a meeting." He inclined his head because what else could he do right then? "We'd be honored."

Chewie grumbled, but fell in as they were lead down a side street.

****

Finn could feel the burn in his back as he hurried, just under running with Master Luke at his side. "She said this way..." He caught sight of them. "There."

They caught up at a crowded intersection. Finn skidded to a stop as Zeros dropped his side of the Trooper box they'd been carrying.

"Eight-Seven?"

Finn couldn't help his grin. "Zeros." He started for them.

"Traitor!"

They whipped towards the yell and Finn pulled Zeros behind him as a Trooper in non-regulation attire leveled a blaster at them with a ragged looking Boost being held by Troopers further back.

Boost started shrieking at the sight of the Trooper box the two Troopers Finn didn't know were holding. 

As the Trooper who yelled turned towards her, rocks flew up from the ground and hit the Troopers facing them.

Finn darted forward and pulled Boost from the dusty mess as she kept screaming. "Kriff." He found Zeros helping him pull Boost along as Master Luke kept rear guard. The two with the Trooper box were ahead of them.

"Left at the next intersection!"

One of them nodded and they turned the corner as the blaster fire started. Finn ducked instinctively. Master Luke lit his lightsaber and started deflecting bolts as he came around the corner after them.

Then there was a flash of a droid moving fast in the other direction and suddenly there was no more blaster fire. Finn turned his head to look as they started across the landing pad to the _Falcon_.

"What was _that_?"

Master Luke was standing with his lightsaber lit and held in a low guard position. 

Finn shook his head at himself. He didn't know saber positions. "Master Luke?"

He turned his head slightly. "Get everyone inside."

Finn nodded. "Right." He pushed on a still screaming Boost. "Quiet down, Boost. Good work."

She blinked and wrapped herself around the Trooper box the others had sat down in the main cabin.

Finn moved over to the floor grate. "Help me open this." His back was not happy, but with the others help they got the grate moved. "Boost, hide?"

She pulled on the box. "Hide. Hide."

The other Troopers went around to the far side of the box. "We've got it Boost."

Finn caught her as Zeros helped. "Box hides first, Boost."

She shivered in their hold as the other two struggled to get the box into the floor space and strapped down. "Hide."

"Yes." Finn met Zeros' eyes over Boost's head. "Sorry."

Zeros blinked at him. "What were you _thinking_?"

Finn frowned as they eased Boost into the small space left next to the Trooper box. "I...wasn't. I needed a pilot. I hadn't taken a shot on Jakku and I didn't want to go to reconditioning."

Zeros rolled his eyes. "It didn't occur to you to fire over their heads? There's always people on deployment that'll hit things you don't. You _can't_ report with a weapon you haven't fired."

"Slip died and I wasn't really thinking." Finn pulled on the grate and in moments they had it settled into place over Boost and her box. "What the kriffing hell is in her box?"

One of the Troopers that had been moving the box grinned. "It's a Code Six in pieces."

Zeros made a strangled sounding noise. "What?!"

The other Trooper shrugged. "He told you that you didn't want to know." He looked towards Finn. "I'm Forty-nine and he's Skim. Did they pick up our squadron?"

Finn nodded. "We did. They worried about you two, but that's how we knew to come try to get Boost."

Zeros looked around the ship. "We? There's more crew in here?"

Finn frowned and turned towards the open ramp. "We separated. I should go check..." His leg gave out and he went down in a heap. "Kriff."

Zeros was at his side in a instance. "Where are you hit?"

"I wasn't." Finn tried to force himself up, but his back was on burning like a line of plasma from a sun. "It's from Starkiller Base. Kylo Ren got me up the back with his lightsaber. I really shouldn't have been running. Medical was real adamant I take it easy."

The others just blinked at him.

Finn lay back down on the deck grating. He could feel Boost's fingers touching the back of his shoulder through the floor and the layer of his jacket. "There's a medical kit beside the bunk over there. Find the packet that says painkillers and bring it here with a water pouch, please."

****

Luke turned off his lightsaber as a single droid came towards him slowly, with its hands held out to the sides. "What are you?"

The droid stopped several feet away. "This unit is TA-175. Commander Poe is designated officer of record. This unit requests cleaning."

Luke glanced down at the blood dripping from the droid's hands. "Designated officer before Commander Poe?"

"Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn, deceased."

Luke blinked twice. "How did Commander Poe become your designated officer?"

"He spared this unit being junked. The children brought this unit with Commander Poe. This unit is to protect Commander Poe and all his soldiers."

"Who gave you that directive?"

"Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn, deceased."

Luke looked the droid up and down again before gesturing towards the ship. "Under the ramp. I'll get the hose loose and we'll rinse you down."

****

Poe didn't like it as they stopped in front of a counter like they were checking into a hostel.

Their escort didn't shift their blasters a single centimeter as the human behind the counter looked at them lazily. "Please surrender all weapons and state your names for announcing upon your entrance into Rotta the Hutt's court."

A blaster muzzle shoved into Poe's ribs. He frowned as he eased the strap to his blaster over his head. "I'm Poe Dameron."

Rey held out her hand blaster. "Rey...Dameron."

Kaleine went up on tiptoe to watch the human inspect their weapons. "I wasn't allowed a weapon. I am..." She glanced at Poe and then Chewie, before looking back towards the human. "I'm Kaleine Solo."

"As in Han Solo?"

Kaleine lifted her chin. "Who else do you think rates three bodyguards and a personal droid at my...age?"

The human froze for a moment before picking up Rey's hand blaster and running a finger over the casing. Moments later the human was grabbing the lady in charge of their escort by the arm and hissing in her ear.

She looked them all over as she nodded slowly. "Please, take back your weapons. Protectors of the Solo heir will of course not be required to surrender their weapons."

Poe gingerly took his blaster back. He exchanged looks with Rey as Kaleine took his hand in hers.

They followed their escort down a set of steps and into the largest gambling den Poe had ever been in. He crowded Kaleine closer to Rey as Chewie tightened up on their heels as they slowly descended steps until they were standing before a Hutt.

Poe reminded himself that if nothing else, Finn and Luke were probably in just as much trouble as him. Well...Hopefully less trouble. A translator stood at the Hutt's side. Poe bit the inside of his cheek to keep himself from asking what the kriff they were doing.

The Hutt spoke for a long time. The translator seemed bored.

Kaleine shifted beside him and Poe gripped her hand a little tighter.

Finally, the Hutt quieted. The translator glanced at the Hutt and then began speaking, "His Excellency, Rotta, the Hutt, thanks the Solo heir for the sole use of the shortest Kessel Run in history. He thanks the Solo heir for their valued ancestors' part in opening a seat for Rotta. He wishes long life on the Solo heir and allies. He would be pleased to extend the contract between the Solo heir and representatives for another three decades at current terms."

Chewie made a questioning noise at Poe's back.

Poe started to open his mouth when Kaleine dropped his hand and stepped forward.

"Princess General Organa Solo sends her warmest regards to the Hutt Clan. Current terms are acceptable for two more decades."

Poe looked down at Kaleine's curly red hair from the corner of his eye.

The Hutt spoke again and the translator nodded. "His Excellency asks if there is anything that can extend the contract's timeframe."

Kaleine nodded. "If his...Excellency, were to wipe out the debts Solo held to the Guavian Death Gang and Kanjiklub, I am certain the contract would be extended for six decades with all other terms intact."

The Hutt narrowed his eyes and shifted on his resting platform as he thought about the terms. He spoke again and his translator still looked bored. "One debt for four decades."

"Both debts or no decades." Kaleine smiled. "Princess General Organa Solo reminds the Hutt Clan as to how Rotta came to have his current position. She would welcome the chance to make a new opening. The Kessel Run could be shortened for others as easily as it has been for the Hutt Clan."

The Hutt howled and waved his arms before turning towards his translator.

Poe leaned down towards Kaleine. "Try not to get us killed, kiddo."

Kaleine reached back and patted his knee. "We're fine."

The translator no longer looked bored. "His Excellency, agrees to clear both debts for eight decades."

Kaleine cocked her head. "Throw in eight cases of Corellian whiskey, make all First Order deaths today appear to be accidents to any inquiries, and the deal is sealed."

A quick word from the Hutt and the translator bowed. "The Solo heir is quite fair. Your request will arrive at your ship shortly. Would you care to stay for dinner?"

Kaleine looked up at Poe.

Poe shook his head. "We are not allowed to risk the Solo heir for longer than..." He did the math on getting them to the ship, in the air, and to lightspeed. "...than another hour."

The translator bowed again.

They found themselves dumped back at the intersection they'd been taken from in less than five minutes. 

Poe bought another two packs of tea from the closing seller. "Let's move it."

They got back to the ship to find Master Luke washing a droid off under the ramp of the ship. Poe ushered everyone else aboard.

"How did the transport droid get here?"

Luke looked up and frowned at him. "About that. Where'd you get him?"

"He was on the planet I met Kaleine on. He pulled the transport boxes with the kids to the ship for me. He's slower than a bantha, but he helped us and was due to be junked so I offered him a job."

"Uh huh. You're going to have to revise that opinion on speed. Where were you?"

"You aren't going to believe me." He gestured to the droid. "What about his speed?"

Luke coiled the hose back into the ship and secured the hatch. "Load up, please."

The droid lumbered up the ramp as Poe eyed Luke eyeing the droid.

"What happened?"

Luke shook his head. "You first."

"Kaleine just negotiated with a Hutt. We should probably be going just as soon as the Corellian whiskey gets here."

Luke huffed and hustled them around to the front of the ramp. "The droid is a tactical battle droid from the Clone Wars."

"What?" Poe stopped them as BB-8 beeped that their liquor was arriving. "We'll need to scan these."

Luke stared at the cases as the Hutt Clan members off loaded them from a ground transport. "They are fine."

Poe didn't question it as a man in outdated clothing came down the ramp to start moving the liquor. "What the..."

Luke clasped him on the shoulder. "Managed to find Boost while you were getting not-killed by the Hutt Clan."

"Okay." Poe grabbed a case and followed the man up into the _Falcon_. There were days he just wasn't going to quibble. He settled the case against the main cabin's wall as Rey fussed over Finn. "He have to run?"

One of the newbies frowned at him. "Yes. The little says you are the Namer of Stormtroopers."

Poe rubbed his hand over his face. "Yeah, more or less. Not right this second though. We need to leave before someone else decides they want to talk to us." He looked down at a noise coming up from the floor grate. "What the...?"

Finn held Rey's hand while he flapped his free hand at Poe. "That's just Boost. She's with the Code Six. In the floor."

Poe raised his eyebrows as the last of the whiskey was stacked against the wall. "How many pain pills did you take?"

"Just three. Like the package said. Rey thinks I'm...suscept...ible. Something. I can't...talk." He frowned. "I'm func-functional though."

Poe caught Finn's flailing hand and squeezed it. "Yeah. I know, Buddy. You're fine. No marching, promise. Just rest. That's your duty right now, got it?"

"Hmm." Finn snuggled Rey's hand under his chin. "Rest. I like the Resistance."

Poe waited the minute it took Finn to drop into sleep. He pried his hand loose. "You good?"

Rey nodded. "Kaleine climbed into the closet and is hiding. BB-8 is keeping her company."

Poe sighed. "I'll reassure her as soon as we're to lightspeed." He went forward and found Luke and Chewie almost through getting them permission to fly. "We got all the purchases onboard?"

Luke nodded as he slipped from the pilot's seat. "Here." He settled into one of the jumpseats. "We've got everything we bought."

Poe nodded as he lifted them off the instant they had the permissions. "Everyone find a seat!"

****

Zeros watched as the little creeped out after the ship was out of the planet's atmosphere. She peeked down through the grate at Boost before coming over and clambering up between Zeros and Skim. "You left?" He still didn't understand why. She hadn't even Transitioned. What had possessed her to risk leaving?

She glanced up at both of them before folding her little hands in her lap. "Yes. We're not allowed choices. They aren't the evil ones." She gestured towards the cockpit where most of the Resistance adults were. "I get to eat. Always. I broke orders last week and the Princess General didn't even dock my rations."

The scavenger that Kylo Ren had wanted spoke up from the cot next to Eight-Seven...Finn, next to Finn. "They let you eat without turning in work. It's insane." She grinned at them. "I love it."

Zeros went over to the bunk and checked that Finn was still breathing. "He said his back is healing."

The scavenger stuck her hand out. "I'm Rey."

He looked at her hand bewildered until he remembered seeing the Generals' touching hands in greeting during Bridge guard duty once. He touched her hand and pulled away fast. It had felt weird to have skin on skin. "Not decommissioned?"

Black Leader came from the cockpit and settled next to Rey on the tiny space between Finn's head and the bunk's wall. "No decommissioning just because of injuries. Jaydavi can show you his scar from the lung that got hit while he was getting Kaleine's platoon out."

Zeros blinked.

The little clambered up into Black Leader's lap. "He means me. My whole squad. Jaydavi used to be called JY-0025."

Skim was beside them so fast that Zeros nearly struck him in defense. "He was on the comm during the fight at D'Qar."

Black Leader's eyebrows went up. "We got all of the TIE's that ejected, but one of the gunners had been hit and killed. I'm sorry about..."

"You did save the living ones of them?"

Black Leader pulled out a data tracker. "Here. I have a roster."

Zeros leaned in to read over Skim's shoulder as he scrolled through the list. "What's the fourth column?"

Black Leader tipped his head to see the screen. "That's favorite food. The next column is any allergies. No one's come up with one yet, but I'm a worrier."

Rey snorted.

He swung at her slow and easy, like it was littles' training. "Hush you."

She smiled and held up Finn's hand a little. "He's still holding onto me."

Zeros frowned. "You shouldn't bring notice to infractions unless you have to."

She blinked at him as Black Leader shook his head.

"No, no. She's fine. Finn's not breaking any rules." He poked at the data tracker. "Here. I've made a short list of rules and customs."

Zeros made a disbelieving noise as he read through the list. "You allow off-shifts for illness that doesn't completely incapacitate?"

Black Leader shifted the now sleeping little onto the bunk next to Finn. "From what I'm finding we allow a bantha load of things the First Order would take rations or decommission beings for." He gently touched Zeros' shoulder. "He missed you."

Zeros blinked at Black Leader's back as the man headed back to the cockpit with Skim at his heels. He turned towards Rey. "I don't understand."

She smiled softly at him as she laid an arm over the sleeping little. "You will if you stick around to work it out."

As though he had anywhere else to go. Zeros looked at the grate hiding Boost and her box. He turned back towards his former squadmate laid out like a sack of ration bars. "He's here. I'll stay with him. With...Finn." He blinked at the feel of a name on his tongue. It was...his choice. Zeros leaned against the bunk's wall as it hit him he'd run from the First Order. He slumped as the trembling in his hands grew worse. He was truly walking dead now. 

****

Poe dropped tea onto the General's desk. "Next time I could use the warning I'm going to have let Kaleine talk to a Hutt for me. A 'feeling' is definitely not enough warning."

She inspected the tea with a smile. "How'd that go?"

"She only threatened him with death once, so...okay, I guess?" Poe dropped into the chair she pointed at. "Also, I hope eight decades was alright for a deal. She got him to agree to clear the last of General Solo's debts. He's supposed to cover the cause of deaths getting Boost as an accident. Kaleine managed to get eight cases of Corellian whiskey out of him." He pulled her bottle from the bag that had held her tea.

"That's much better than I expected." She inspected the bottle. "I'd authorized her to go as high as twelve decades and leave with only one debt paid. At least I don't have to worry about operational costs for a while longer." She looked up at him sharply. "Luke says you have a Clone Wars era battle droid under your command."

Poe winced. "I...did not know that. He just looked old and decrepit. I didn't even know he was capable of running." He grimaced. "He did give me a data chip that fried a patrol droid, but in the insuring excitement I sort of forgot about it."

The General sighed as she put the bottle away inside her desk. "Luke thinks he'll be okay as long as you don't order him to kill us all in our sleep." She looked at him. "Did you have a chance to learn what blaster tag is?"

"On the way back." Poe scrubbed his hands through his hair. "They lock blasters to stun, split into teams, and hunt each other down. The side with the last man standing wins. There's a few more rules to it. Grace period after leaving the fresher, for instance, but that's the main gist of it."

She leaned back in her seat. "She wants to play war games."

Poe shrugged. "I'm just happy it doesn't involve real killing." He slumped in his seat as she gave him a sharp look. "Sorry."

"No, you aren't wrong." She shuffled the tea pouches into a neat line. "They can prep at a speed I've not see out of our forces even in actual combat."

"Losing rations when you are growing is a powerful incentive." Poe clasped his hands together. "I want to put up a list for them on a wall somewhere. Let them list all their dead."

"I heard about needing to scan garbage from your squadron while you were gone."

Poe nodded.

She started putting the tea away. "The list goes right on the Memorial Wall."

He blinked and frowned. "With our dead?"

"Yes." She sighed. "Turns out they are all our dead, aren't they?"

"Pretty much." Poe's fingers itched to reach out to her. "Thank you, General. Thanks for making Finn as comfortable as you could the other day. He raved about you testing his caf for him all the way lightspeed on the way out."

Her eyes brightened. "How's the Stormtrooper you went to kidnap?"

"She's crazy." Poe made a face. "Maybe. Medical knocked her out so we could get her and the Code Six out of the _Falcon_." He pressed at the corner of his eyes to hold back his tears. "She's a mass of scarring. Dr. Kalonia thinks she's been subjected to torture for decades. Thing is..." He dropped his hand. "Thing is, you can see her in there. She's watching. I think if we keep her fed and warm she's going to settle down enough to at least tell us about the Code Six she packed into that box and went to a lot of dangerous pre-prep to even have the chance to get it to us."

The General nodded. "No one is going to try to open her box until she's ready. Luke thinks the box is bobby-trapped and I'm inclined to agree. We can wait on her to decide to trust us." She folded her hands in front of herself. "What do you think of the three Stormtroopers that came with her?"

"Two of them were the ones I told you about that had gone back to get Boost's box. The third...He's Finn's old squad. I'm not sure he wants to be here." Poe frowned. "I don't think he wants to go back either, but he might be the first to test that we'll let them leave."

"Alright. We'll plan accordingly." She smiled at him. "Congratulations on finally completing a simple shopping run, Commander."

Poe rolled his eyes. "Did I mention that Kaleine referred to you as Princess General in front of the Hutt Clan?"

She groaned. "Out. You are a menace. Send in Kaleine and make sure she knows she's not in trouble."

He laughed at her on his way to her door. "Can do, General."

****


End file.
